Gooners coming up for air after Arsenal won the Premiership, lost the Champions League Final, and had a North London victory parade that drew an estimated 1,000,000+ supporters.
The turnout in North Beach for the PSG match was unreal. Maggie’s was packed to the rafters, and so many Gooners showed up, it literally shut down Grant Avenue. We packed them in at Gino & Carlo, the Northstar Cafe and hosted a sold out all-ages viewing at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club.
Other Arsenal supporters found themselves in adjacent North Beach restaurants and bars, because designated locations reached capacity. North Beach was truly red. Ultimately disappointed by the result but still walking on air as title winners.
Now that Arsenal are champions, people have been asking me a lot, how does it feel? Honestly, it feels quite surreal. As I told the crowd at Maggie’s, I never imagined when starting the group 20 years ago, it would take this long to win the title again.
I’ve honestly been a little numb, but what I have soaked up is the elation and unbridled joy from Gooners at the pub. Some have not waited as long as 22 years, but it hasn’t meant any less to them.
I started this group for one reason, to watch Arsenal with other people. The Bay Area Gooners became part of an incredible community, for whom Arsenal is so much more than just a football team. As evidenced by the stories here in this issue of the excellent Heart of a Fan Stubstack.
The off-season
Now we’ll take some time to bask in the title win. Maybe we’ll organize some off-season meet-ups, World Cup watches, who knows. I’ll be sending out a survey to anyone who was at our all-ages viewing, to gauge if it’s something we can do again. Before you know it, it will be August and it starts all over again.
Thank you to everyone who turned up for a match this season. You helped make the Bay Area Gooners, one of the most vibrant supporters groups anywhere.
COYG!
Best, Mark
Bay Area Gooners 